The second main part of Matthew 1 concerns the actual coming of Christ to earth.
The Pregnancy for the Arrival (Matthew 1:18)
“Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise; When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost” (Matthew 1:18). The arrival of Christ on earth came through the pregnancy of the virgin Mary. The cause of this pregnancy is plainly stated as being the Holy Spirit. Mary did not conceive Christ by the usual means. There was not a human man involved. It was a Divine miracle.
The Problem About the Arrival (Matthew 1:18–21)
The coming of Christ in His conception in Mary created a problem for Joseph the man who married Mary, the mother of Christ. The fact that one of the first things we learn in Matthew about the coming of Christ to earth is that it caused a problem tells us that whenever Christ comes on the scene there will be problems. When Christ comes to dwell in you, there will be problems with relationships, with the home, and with society. But those who receive Jesus Christ and submit to God’s Word about Christ will find a solution to the problem and will learn that the blessing of Christ will come in spite of problems. Joseph found this to be true.
The commitment in the problem. “Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise. When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost” (Matthew 1:18). The problem began when Mary’s pregnancy with Christ was discovered during the time she was espoused to Joseph. Joseph did not know about the Divine involvement in the pregnancy; so when he heard the news of her pregnancy, he drew the only conclusion he could draw, namely, that Mary had been unfaithful to him. This pregnancy created a big problem by the fact that Mary was espoused to Joseph. Had Joseph not been espoused to Mary, her pregnancy would not have caused him nearly as much problem as it did in being espoused to Mary. Being espoused to Mary made breaking up with Mary something far more serious than had he just been “dating” her. The espousal was like our engagement except it was a much stronger commitment. It often was a written agreement with an endowment from the husband-to-be for the parents of the bride-to-be. The espousal period could last as long as a year. During this time the man and woman involved generally did not see each other. The custom of not seeing each other accounts for Mary going to dwell with Elizabeth, her cousin and the soon-to-be mother of John the Baptist, for three months during the time Mary was pregnant with Christ (Luke 1:39–56) and just before John the Baptist was born. Because of the strong commitment in an espousal, to break up after being espoused was as serious as getting divorced. So Joseph had a serious problem on his hands.
The consternation in the problem. “When … Mary was espoused to Joseph … she was found with child of the Holy Ghost” (Matthew 1:18). The consternation for Joseph about Mary’s pregnancy involved both the puzzle and pain about Mary’s condition. First, the puzzle. The condition of pregnancy would be a puzzle in that he thought Mary was impeccable (she was), but what kind of a girl was she to have such loose morals (he thought) that during their espousal time she gets pregnant from another man. Joseph would be shocked at learning of Mary’s pregnancy. In his ignorance of the cause of her condition, he could only see great moral betrayal by Mary—indeed a great puzzle. Second, the pain. The pain was, of course, in learning that the girl he loved and planned to marry appeared to be treacherous and immoral.
The character for the problem. “Joseph … being a just man” (Matthew 1:19). Though Joseph was a godly, upright man; yet he suffered much trial from this situation of Mary. The godly are not exempt from puzzling and painful trials, rather “Many are the afflictions of the righteous” (Psalm 34:19).
The convictions in the problem. “Was minded to put her away” (Matthew 1:19). Joseph, in spite of his love for Mary, would deal faithfully and firmly with sin. In spite of his love for Mary, his convictions made immoral conduct intolerable. He would not marry a girl who had bad morals. So he thought to end the espousal and not marry her. He would not sacrifice purity and principle for pleasure but would give up Mary in favor of righteousness. Joseph had some good moral convictions and would conduct himself accordingly in spite of his sorrow.
The compassion in the problem. “Not willing to make her a public example, was minded to put her away privately.” (Matthew 1:19). Joseph was a man of both grace and truth (John 1:14). He was truth in that he would put her away (end the espousal and marriage agreement); but he was a man of grace in that he would do it privately, not publicly. He was not anxious to spread such terrible news.
The control in the problem. “While he thought on these things” (Matthew 1:20). Joseph did not act hastily until he was sure he was doing right—another good character trait in Joseph.
The comfort for the problem. “Behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife; for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. And she shall bring forth a son” (Matthew 1:20, 21). Joseph was given heavenly enlightenment about Mary’s condition. It had to be a great comfort to Joseph to hear the wonderful news regarding why Mary was pregnant, though he would not understand the matter about the conception and the Holy Spirit. We do not have to understand everything about the Bible to benefit from it.
The command in the problem. “She shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS; for he shall save his people from his sins” (Matthew 1:21). The command is what to name the child—we will see more about this later.
The Prophecy About the Arrival (Matthew 1:22, 23)
The Gospel of Matthew emphasizes the fulfillment of prophecy more than any of the other Gospels. Since Matthew, more than the other three, was written especially with the Jews in mind, this emphasis on prophecy was most fitting; for the Jews had the Holy Scriptures and prophecy was very important to them. Matthew would have the Jews realize that Jesus Christ was indeed a fulfillment of their Scriptures. His genealogy, His birth and His life—were all predicted in the Old Testament.
The sureness of the prophecy. “All this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet” (Matthew 1:22). The sureness of the fulfillment of prophecy underscores the invincible character of the Word of God. Many prophecies, like this one about Christ, seemed at the time of its utterance unlikely to be fulfilled because of the circumstances. But if God’s Word says it will happen, it will happen.
The source of the prophecy. “Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us” (Matthew 1:23). This prophecy about the Incarnate Word, Jesus Christ, comes from Isaiah 7:14.
The sanctity in the prophecy. “A virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son” (Matthew 1:23). The sanctity of this conception and birth of Christ by Mary is that she conceived as a virgin. The virgin birth says Christ did not have a biological human father. The virgin birth is not something hinted at in Scripture but something that is dogmatically and repeatedly taught in Scripture. The virgin birth is not only prophesied in Scripture (as noted in our Matthew text), but it is also emphasized—especially in this first chapter of Matthew. It is emphasized in “before they came together, she was found "with child of the Holy Ghost” (Matthew 1:18); in “that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost” (Matthew 1:20), in “knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son” (Matthew 1:25), and in “her firstborn son [not ‘their’ firstborn]” (Matthew 1:25). To deny the virgin birth is to deny what the Scriptures say.
The supernatural in the prophecy. “They shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us” (Matthew 1:23). The Deity of Christ is also in this prophecy. Christ was not just human but He was also supernatural—that is, He was very God as well as human. The Deity of Christ also says Jesus Christ is eternal and thus existed before His conception in Mary and His birth in Bethlehem. Apostates despise this doctrine, but they cannot say the Bible does not teach it, for the Deity of Christ, like the virgin birth, is taught plainly and repeatedly in the Scripture.
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